Former Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara said Indian captain Shreyas Iyer’s hundred in the first T20I against the West Indies in Lucknow was an exceptional effort. Pujara also added that Shreyas Iyer batted with a lot of clarity and knew which shots to play and which bowlers to target. However, Shreyas smashed his maiden T20I century against the West Indies at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday, October 6 as well. Chasing a target of 172, India lost both their openers inside four overs. However, Iyer led from the front, smashing 102* off 43 balls.

During a discussion on Cricinfo, Pujara applauded Shreyas Iyer’s hundred and said: “It was exceptional the way he batted. When he walked into bat, India had lost a couple of wickets. The moment he walked in, he counter-attacked. He played normal cricketing shots. If you look at the way he batted, especially in the power play, he was looking to time the ball. It was smart cricket. He realized where he wanted to play shots. There was a lot of clarity in his batting. Once he was set, after the powerplay, he was taking on some of the bowlers. He knew which bowlers he wanted to target. I think it was a phenomenal innings.”

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Shreyas Iyer had not been in great form with the bat heading into the first T20I against the West Indies. He failed to register a single fifty during the away series in Zimbabwe and the home series against Afghanistan as well. He also struggled in Japan during the Asian Games.

Pujara concluded: “I know that there wasn’t any question around his batting. But once you get to that hundred mark as a batter, you feel that confidence. I’m sure Shreyas Iyer will be a lot more confident now going forward into the series.”